For Taxpayers...

A 2010 survey to 80,000 households by the Better Hearing Institute reviewed income levels of 43,000 adult heads of household with and without hearing loss controlling for degree of hearing loss, age and other demographic variables. In a study titled "The Impact of Untreated Hearing Loss on Household Income" they showed that untreated hearing loss results in a loss of income per household of up to $30,000 per year, depending on degree of hearing loss.

For the 24 million Americans with untreated hearing loss, this equates to $176 billion in lost income, due to underperformance on the job.

This translates into a cost to society of $26 billion annually in unrealized income taxes (in the 15% bracket).